Mission

Theatre East is a 501(c)3 nonprofit theatre company whose mission is to provide the community with a platform to deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world we share through works of theatre that utilize simple storytelling.

Company History

After producing such hits as the premiere of Christopher Durang’s The Vietnamization of New Jersey (NY Times Critic’s Pick) and the premiere of Texas playwright David W. Crawford’s Harvest (Back Stage Critic’s Pick, Smith & Kraus Best New Plays of 2008) and earning a spot as “producers to watch in 2008” on PBS’s Theater Talk; with over a decade of producing both here in New York and Texas, the husband-and-wife producing partners, Judson Jones and Christa Kimlicko Jones, along with Joseph Mitchel Parks, founded Theatre East in 2008.

We believe that art defines a civilization.

Core Beliefs

We believe theatre enables a greater connection to the world and to each other.

We believe theatre is a catalyst for critical thinking.

We believe theatre can teach us about humanity's place in history.

We believe theatre should play an active role in education.

We believe theatre is not a luxury but should be accessible to everyone, no matter one's economic or social status.

We believe in the inherent value of artists and seek to provide competitive compensation for their skills, efforts, and expertise.

We believe a theatre company, in order to effectively serve its community and itself, should remain transparent and inclusive.

We believe in fiscal responsibility for the company at all times.

We believe the creation of theatre fosters collaboration and effective communication that depends upon smart, respectful, courageous, and versatile artists.

From Judson Jones

Artistic Director

Drawing from my small-town Texas upbringing, I truly believe theatre exists to serve its community, much like the feed store, the local house of worship, or the old barbershop. It serves as a place where ideas are exchanged and challenged. As a child I remember going to the feed store with my father or grandfather. We’d get there, load up the feed, the saltlicks and whatever else we might need. Then my father would pour himself a cup a coffee, sit down with whoever else was there at the time and then the bigger purpose of our trip would begin. Conversations about the weather, market prices, farming practices, politics, the goings on around town. Oddly enough, most things you could get fromthe almanac, morning farmers’ report or the news. But this was how we and most folks did it. And still do. It’s this sense of community we seek.

My great-grandfather, Pap, and two great-uncles, Charlie Ray and Buddy

Theatre, which taken directly from Greek means, “a seeing place.” And communion comes from Latin meaning, “with oneness.” A place of seeing what common things we share. Or as John Peter Berger put it, “The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them. It seems to me it’s something that theatre can do, but it’s rare; it’s very rare.”

I truly believe theatre is more than just something we view as a bystander. I believe it’s something we experience as a community. Millennia before theater houses were built or marquees were lit, people found themselves congregating together to share stories of journeys, of discovery, stories of great victory or grave defeat. People were impassioned, emboldened or even frightened by these accounts. And it was a collective experience. Because it was a part of them.

In economic times as these, with new fears seeming to surface every day, art is not always considered paramount. However, we feel our community needs the work of bold, aware artists confronting challenges with a penetrating, unblinking eye to help us understand our ever-changing surroundings. This…is our charge.